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Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Here All Along by Crista McHugh

Can best friends become lovers while the cameras are rolling?

Can best friends become lovers while the cameras are rolling?

Movie star Gideon Kelly has always harbored a secret crush for his long-time friend and assistant, Sarah. One sizzling kiss is enough to convince him she’s the only woman for him, and he’ll do anything to prove to her they have all the makings of an epic Hollywood romance.

Sarah Holtz rose to stardom as a child only to crash and burn in her late teen years. Gideon was there to help put the pieces of her life back together, and she now relishes her life far away from the paparazzi flashes. Her need for privacy is the one thing holding her back from exploring something more with him. When a video of their kiss goes viral, she’s left wondering if he’s worth the risk of stepping back into the spotlight to become his leading lady.

Sarah pressed her hand to her chest, but it did little to calm the frantic beat of her heart. No good ever came from eavesdropping, and now she knew why. She was just waiting for Gideon to repeat his drunken confession from Halloween. But by some blessed twist of fate, he was smart enough to end the conversation there, despite the reporter’s pleas for a name.
She’d walked away from Sage Holtz and all the baggage that came with that name years ago. The father who’d been arrested in the company of an underage prostitute. The drunk mother who was on her sixth husband and who’d had so much plastic surgery, she could blink her belly button. The downward spiral of drugs and alcohol that had destroyed her career. As far as she was concerned, that person died the night she’d gotten hit by a car outside a club over three years ago.
In her place stood a person she liked. Sarah Holtz may not have been a glamorous movie star, but she had accepted herself for who she was and finally felt comfortable in her skin. She hid from the spotlight and the flash of the camera, but she was still entwined with the industry she’d once sacrificed everything for. She’d found her balance.
Which was why entering into a romantic relationship with Gideon was not an option.
And if he let her name slip to that reporter, she feared the balance she’d spent the last three years trying to achieve would come crashing down around her.
Her breath hitched when the reporter mentioned wedding bells. Please, anything but that. It didn’t help that all of Gideon’s brothers were either married, engaged, or in a long-term relationship. The settling-down bug had hit the Kelly boys, much to their mother’s delight, and Gideon wasn’t immune to it. Especially after that Halloween party.
“A man can only hope,” he’d replied.
The five words hit her like a punch in the gut. She’d expected him to move on once she explained why being more than friends was out of the question, but his response to the reporter told her he hadn’t let go of the idea. Not yet. And she wasn’t sure if she should be flattered or upset.
Perhaps she should’ve turned in her notice on Halloween.
But somewhere in the center of her chest, she knew why she hadn’t. Gideon was right. She did care about him. Far more than she should. Which was why Operation Independence needed to be a success. She needed to prove to herself that her feelings for him weren’t tied to the fact he’d taken her in and helped her get back on her feet. She needed to know that she was capable of taking care of herself first. And then, if her insides still turned to mush when he wrapped his arms around her and whispered sentimental nonsense, maybe she’d find the courage to see where things went.
She managed to pull herself together just as Gideon emerged from the room. “I thought I saw you waiting for me.”
“Like I have anything better to do. Besides, I just asked the valet to bring my car around.”
He paused and seemed to search her face for any sign that she’d overheard him, but her years on camera had taught her how to turn her face into an emotionless mask. She was the queen of resting bitch face.
After a moment, he gave up and leaned in to whisper, “Get me out of here before she propositions me again.”
“I don’t know. Getting laid might do you some good,” she teased.
Unfortunately, it backfired. Desire flared in his dark blue eyes, but they were focused on her.
Her body rebelled against her with a quiver of anticipation that rolled through her veins and settled in the deepest pit of her stomach. Her breath quickened as she imagined what it would feel like to have his lips on her neck, her collarbone, her breasts. A flush stole over her skin from the thought, and she licked her lips. Would it be worth all the chaos just to spend one night in his bed?
He responded with a slow, easy grin that let her know he’d witnessed her moment of weakness. “You said it, not me.”

Meet the Author

Crista McHugh, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of fantasy and romance who writes heroines who are smart, sexy and anything but ordinary. She currently lives in the Audi-filled suburbs of Seattle with her husband and two children, maintaining her alter ego of mild-mannered physician by day while she continues to pursue writing on nights and weekends.
She is an active member of the Romance Writers of America (including the Greater Seattle Chapter and the Seattle Eastside Chapters), and Romance Divas.
Just for laughs, here are some of the jobs she’s had in the past to pay the bills: barista, bartender, sommelier, stagehand, actress, morgue attendant, and autopsy assistant.
And she’s also a recovering LARPer. (She blames it on her crazy college days)